Abstract
We report herein the case of a 40-year-old man with grade II invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast (pT1, pN0, M0: stage I) in whom a recurrence developed shortly after completion of a 2-year course of tamoxifen and 5-fluorouracil therapy following a mastectomy. Although the metastatic tumor was estrogen receptor-positive, hormone therapy combined with chemotherapy had no significant effect on tumor growth, and the patient died from disseminated tumors 2 years 6 months after completion of the adjuvant therapy. It is noteworthy that the circulating estradiol level increased from 18.0 to 892.3 pg/ml during the period of tumor progression and dissemination. We interpret these findings as an indication of high aromatase activity in the metastatic tumors. We suggest that extending tamoxifen treatment to 5 years or longer be recommended for the standard adjuvant hormone therapy of male breast cancer to prevent the early recurrence of hormone-responsive disease.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 149-151 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Surgery Today |
Volume | 31 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Aromatase activity
- Male breast cancer
- Tamoxifen failure
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Surgery